Among Us is a mega popular online game, at one point even beating out Roblox to become the most-downloaded mobile game on both Android and iOS. Although its popularity has waned slightly since then, it remains a fan favorite. But if your child is asking to play the game, you may be wondering, “Is Among Us safe for kids?” That’s why we’ve compiled this handy guide to answer that question for you.
Among Us is a space-themed, multiplayer online strategy game. The players are colorful, bulbous cartoon astronauts on a mission. Players take on the role of either a crewmate whose mandate is to perform tasks related to the mission or an imposter whose sole purpose is to sabotage the mission and destroy the crew.
The game is best for kids ages 10 and older due to the violent premise of the game and the open chat feature, although supervised play may be okay for slightly younger children. Both the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Common Sense Media give Among Us an age rating of 10+.
Because there’s no dialogue, parents don’t need to worry about inappropriate language in the game itself. However, because there is a chat feature, kids may be exposed to inappropriate language from other players in comments or character names. However, you can use parental controls to filter out inappropriate chat content, and usernames are somewhat moderated.
There is no sex or nudity in Among Us. In fact, the players never even take off those adorable little space suits.
The entire goal of the imposters in the game is to murder crew members or sabotage equipment in order to kill them. The murders in particular are often quite violent, such as snapping necks or stabbing. And there’s no pretending the crewmates faced any other fate but death, considering the bodies are left behind and ghosts of killed players can be found floating around. While the actions are rather gory, no blood is shown, and the cartoonish nature of the game does temper the impact of the violence.
The game does have parental controls, but only for children under the age of 13. Parents can access this feature through the Inner Sloth Parental Portal. Here are the notable options that parents can control:
BrightCanary doesn’t monitor Among Us, but it’s possible that your child will look up additional playthrough videos and related content on Google, YouTube, and social media. It’s a good idea to supervise what your child searches online, just in case they encounter anything concerning. Their gaming experience might be safe for kids, but the content they watch from other creators may be anything but. With BrightCanary, you can keep tabs on their searches, posts, and even texts.
Because of the violent premise of the game and the murders acted out on screen, Among Us may be scary for particularly sensitive kids. However, it’s not intended to be a horror game, the characters are not particularly humanlike, and the violence is cartoonish, all of which minimize the fear-factor.
Despite the violent premise and open chat feature, Among Us remains relatively safe for children over the age of 10. Parents should utilize the parental control features for additional peace of mind.
